Verizon Wireless is teasing an upcoming Motorola phone, with Apple in its crosshairs.
Dubbed the Motorola Droid, the phone has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 3.7-inch capacitive touch screen. It gets its name, of course, from Google's Android mobile platform, running version 2.0 according to Boy Genius Report. Google even reportedly had a hand in the phone's development, making good on the newly announced partnership between Google and Verizon.
Other features include a 5-megapixel camera with flash, a TI OMAP3430 processor, a desktop cradle and charger that turns the phone into a "multimedia station." Verizon officially says "November" for a release window, but rumor has it the phone will be available starting November 6th.
The best part about the Droid -- previously codenamed the Motorola Sholes -- is how its not hiding any intentions to compete with Apple's iPhone. Over the weekend, Verizon launched a Web site and an advertisement, both of which point out the iPhone's inadequacies -- "iDon't run simultaneous apps," "iDon't customize," "iDon't allow open development," among others -- to illustrate how the Droid makes up for them.
The key here is Android, which has always all the things mentioned above, but has lacked polish in previous versions, and has yet to find a hardware home with mass appeal. I like that Verizon is pushing Android in its marketing materials, instead of following T-Mobile and merely saying the phone comes "with Google." That's an oversimplification, and it neither enlightens the buyer nor shows the platform any respect. By comparison, Verizon has licensed the word "Droid" from Lucasfilms and is referring to the phone as "a robot sidekick."
It seems that tech writers have learned their lesson from the Palm Pre, and aren't calling the Droid an iPhone killer. Apple's smartphone has simply become to big to be felled by a new entrant, but the Droid is being viewed as potentially the best solution for people who either don't want an iPhone or are deathly afraid of signing up with AT&T. That's really the best Verizon and Google can hope for.
